Newport has been a port since medieval times, when a castle was built by the Normans. The town outgrew the earlier Roman town of Caerleon, immediately upstream, and gained its first charter in 1314. It grew significantly in the 19th century, when its port became the focus of coal exports from the eastern valleys of South Wales. Until the rise of Cardiff from the 1850s, Newport was Wales' largest coal-exporting port. It was the site of the last large-scale armed insurrection in Britain, the Newport Rising of 1839 led by the Chartists.

The settlement of 'Newport' is first mentioned as novo burgus established by Robert, Earl of Gloucester in 1126.[3] The name was derived from the original Latin name Novus Burgus, meaning new borough or new town. The city can sometimes be found labelled as Newport-on-Usk on old maps.[4] The original Welsh language name for the city, Casnewydd-ar-Wysg (pronounced [kasˈnɛwɪð ar ˈwɪsk]) means 'New castle-on-Usk' (this is a shortened version of Castell Newydd ar Wysg) and this refers to the twelfth-century castle ruins near Newport city centre. The original Newport Castle was a small motte-and-bailey castle in the park opposite Newport Cathedral. It was buried in rubble excavated from the Hillfield railway tunnels that were dug under Stow Hill in the 1840s and no part of it is currently visible.[5]

Around the settlement, the new town grew to become Newport, obtaining its first charter in 1314[6] and was granted a second one, by Hugh Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford in 1385. In the 14th century friars came to Newport where they built an isolation hospital for infectious diseases. After its closure the hospital lived on in the place name "Spitty Fields" (a corruption of ysbyty, the Welsh for hospital).[7] "Austin Friars" also remains a street name in the city.

During the Welsh Revolt in 1402 Rhys Gethin, General for Owain Glyndŵr, forcibly took Newport Castle together with those at Cardiff, Llandaff, Abergavenny, Caerphilly, Caerleon and Usk.[8] During the raid the town of Newport was badly burned and Saint Woolos church destroyed.

A third charter, establishing the right of the town to run its own market and commerce came from Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham in 1426. By 1521, Newport was described as having "....a good haven coming into it, well occupied with small crays [merchant ships] where a very great ship may resort and have good harbour." Trade was thriving with the nearby ports of Bristol and Bridgwater and industries included leather tanning, soap making and starch making.[7] The town's craftsmen included bakers, butchers, brewers, carpenters and blacksmiths. A further charter was granted by James I in 1623.

The Newport Rising in 1839 was the last large-scale armed rebellion against authority in mainland Britain. John Frost and 3,000 other Chartists marched on the Westgate Hotel at the centre of the town. The march was met with an attack by militia, called to the town by the Mayor, Thomas Phillips: at least 20 marchers were killed and were later buried in Saint Woolos churchyard. John Frost was sentenced to death for treason, but this was later commuted to transportation to Australia. He returned to Britain (but not to Newport) later in his life. John Frost Square (1977), in the centre of the city, is named in his honour.

Newport probably had a Welsh-speaking majority until the 1830s, but with a large influx of migrants from England and Ireland over the following decades, the town and the rest of Monmouthshire came to be seen as "un-Welsh", a view compounded by ambiguity about the status of Monmouthshire.[3] In the 19th century, the St George Society of Newport (a group largely consisting of English settlers and businessmen) asserted that the town was part of England. It was at a meeting in Newport, attended by future Prime Minister David Lloyd George, that the Cymru Fydd movement received its death blow in 1896 when politician Robert Bird stated “You will find, from Swansea to Newport, a cosmopolitan population who will not submit to the domination of Welsh ideas!”.[3] In 1922 Lloyd George was to suffer a further blow in Newport, when the South Wales Liberal Federation, led by David Alfred Thomas, an industrialist and Liberal politician, and Robert Bird moved that Lloyd George "be not heard" in the 1895 General Election. The Conservative capture of the recently created Newport constituency in a by-election in 1922 was one of the causes of the fall of his coalition government.[3]

The late 19th and early 20th century period was a boom time for Newport. The Alexandra Docks opened in 1875. The population was expanding rapidly and the town became a county borough in 1891.[3] In 1892 the Alexandra South Dock was opened and was the largest masonry dock in the world.[3] Although coal exports from Newport were by now modest compared to the Port of Cardiff (which included Cardiff, Penarth and Barry), Newport was the place where the Miners' Federation of Great Britain was founded in 1889, and international trade was sufficiently large for 8 consuls and 14 vice-consuls to be based in the town.[3] In 1898 Lysaght's Orb Works opened and by 1901 employed 3,000 staff. Urban expansion took in Pillgwenlly and Lliswerry to the south; this eventually necessitated a new crossing of the River Usk, which was provided by the Newport Transporter Bridge completed in 1906, described as "Newport's greatest treasure".[3]

Further extensions to the South Dock were opened in 1907 and 1914. The Newport Docks Disaster occurred on 2 July 1909 when, during construction of the new south lock connecting the South Dock to the Severn Estuary, supporting timbers in an excavation trench collapsed and buried 46 workers. The rescuers included 12-year-old paper boy Thomas ‘Toya’ Lewis who was small enough to crawl into the collapsed trench. Lewis worked for two hours with hammer and chisel in an attempt to free one of those trapped who was released the next day. Several hundred pounds was later raised through public subscription in gratitude for the boy's efforts, and he was sent on an engineering scholarship to Scotland. Lewis was awarded the Albert Medal for Lifesaving by King Edward VII in December 1909. A Wetherspoons pub in the city centre is named "The Tom Toya Lewis" after the young hero.[10] The building in which the pub is housed was formerly the Newport YMCA, the Foundation Stone for which was laid by Viscount Tredegar, also in 1909.[11]

From 1893 the town was served by the paddle steamers of P & A Campbell Ltd. (the "White Funnel Line"), which was based in Bristol. The company had been originally set up, by the Scottish brothers Alex and Peter Campbell, on the River Clyde, but was re-located to the Severn Estuary. Departing steamers would face south on Davis Wharf, with the Art College to its left and the town bridge behind. The boats gave rise to the name of the short street which led to the quayside - Screwpacket Road. By 1955 steamers had stopped calling at Newport and P&A Campbell went in to receivership in 1959. It was taken over by the firm which would become the Townsend Ferry group.[12]

The modern era

The Newport Wave steel sculpture by Peter Fink, erected 1990. Newport Market is in the background

Compared to many Welsh towns, Newport's economy had a broad base, with foundries, engineering works, a cattle market and shops that served much of Monmouthshire.[3] However, the docks were in decline even before the Great Depression, and local unemployment peaked at 34.7% in 1930: high, but not as bad as the levels seen in the mining towns of the South Wales Valleys. Despite the economic conditions, the council re-housed over half the population in the 1920s and 30s.[3] In 1930 the Town Dock was filled in.

The post-war years saw renewed prosperity, with Saint Woolos Cathedral (now Newport Cathedral) attaining full cathedral status in 1949, the opening of the modern integrated Llanwern steelworks in 1962, and the construction of the Severn Bridge and local sections of the M4 motorway in the late 1960s, making Newport the best-connected place in Wales.[3][13] Although employment at Llanwern steelworks declined in the 1980s, the town acquired a range of new public sector employers, and a Richard Rogers-designed Inmos microprocessor factory helped to establish Newport as being extant for technology companies.[14] A flourishing local music scene in the early 1990s led to claims that the town was "a new Seattle".[3][15]

The county borough of Newport was granted city status in 2002 to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee.[16] In the same year, an unusually large merchant ship, referred to locally as the Newport Ship, was uncovered and rescued from the west bank of the River Usk during the construction of the Riverfront Arts Centre. The ship has been dated to some time between 1445 and 1469 and it remains the only vessel of its type from this period yet discovered anywhere in the world.

Governance

Newport has long been the largest town in the historic county of Monmouthshire and became a unitary authority in 1996, although it was also a county borough between 1891 and 1974. The Local Government Act 1972 removed ambiguity about the legal status of the area by including the administrative county of Monmouthshire and the county borough of Newport into all acts pertaining to Wales, and in 1974 the borough was incorporated into the new local government county of Gwent. Gwent itself was abolished in 1996 but remains in use for ceremonial functions as a preserved county.

The City of Newport is divided between the UK Parliamentary constituencies of Newport West and Newport East and elects one Member of Parliament (MP) in each constituency. The two constituencies cover a similar area to that of the city area controlled by Newport City Council. The city formerly had only one constituency until 1983 when the city was split into Newport West and Newport East due to population growth. In the United Kingdom general election, 2015, Labour held Newport West with a reduced majority of 3,510 votes over the Conservative Party. The Labour Party also held Newport East with an increased majority of 4,705 votes over the Conservative Party.

Coat of arms

The official blazon of the armorial bearings is: "(arms) Or, a chevron reversed gules, the shield ensigned by a cherub proper. Supporters: on the dexter side a winged sea lion Or, and on the sinister side a sea dragon gules, the nether parts of both proper, finned gold."

Freedom of the City

The title of Freedom of Newport is a ceremonial honour, given by the Newport council to those who have served in some exceptional capacity, or upon any whom Newport wishes to bestow an honour. There have been 17 individuals or organisations that have received the honour since 1909,[18] including:

The city is largely low-lying, but with a few hilly areas. (Wentwood reaches 310 metres above sea level). Areas in the south and east of the city tend to be flat and fertile with some housing estates and industrial areas reclaimed from marshland. Areas near the banks of the River Usk, such as Caerleon, are also low-lying. The eastern outskirts of the city are characterised by the gently rolling hills of the Vale of Usk and Christchurch has panoramic views of the Vale of Usk and the Bristol Channel. Ridgeway at Allt-yr-yn also has good views of the surrounding areas and Bristol Channel. Brynglas has views over the city centre and Twmbarlwm to the west. The suburbs of the city have grown outwards from the inner-city, mostly near the main roads, giving the suburban sprawl of the city an irregular shape. The urban area is continuing to expand rapidly with new housing estates continuing to be built.

The city boundaries include a number of villages in the rural areas surrounding the built-up area.

Wards and districts

The city is divided into 20 wards. Most of these wards are coterminous with communities (parishes) of the same name. Each community can have an elected council. The following table lists city council wards, communities and associated geographical areas. Communities with a community council are indicated with a '*':

Climate

Newport has a moderate temperateclimate, with the weather rarely staying the same for more than a few days at a time. The city is one of the sunnier locations in Wales and its sheltered location tends to protect it from extreme weather. Like the whole of the British Isles, Newport benefits from the warming effect of the Gulf Stream. Newport has mild summers and cool winters.[23][24][25][26][27]

Thunderstorms may occur intermittently at any time of year, but are most common throughout late-spring and summer. Rain falls throughout the year, Atlantic storms give significant rainfall in the autumn, these gradually becoming rarer towards the end of winter. Autumn and summer have often been the wettest seasons in recent times. Snow falls every winter and usually settles on the ground several times, and usually melts after a few days. Newport records few days with gales compared to most of Wales, again due to its sheltered location. Frosts are common from October to May.

On 20 March 1930, the overnight temperature fell to −16.1 °C (3.0 °F) the coldest temperature for the whole of the UK during that year, and the latest date in spring the UK's lowest temperature has been recorded.[28]

Demography

Year

Population

1801

6,657

1851

29,238

1881

48,069

1901

79,342

1941

116,434

1981

131,016

2001

137,017

2011

145,700

People from Newport are known as Newportonians. In the 2011 census, 89.9% described themselves as White, 5.5% Asian, 1.7% Black, 1.1% Mixed White/Black, 0.5% Mixed White/Asian and 1.4% as other ethnic groups.[29]

In the 2011 census 56.8% of Newport residents considered themselves Christian, 4.7% Muslim, 1.2% Other religions (including Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jewish and Others), 29.7% were non-religious and 7.5% chose not to answer the non-compulsory religion question on the census.[31]

Economy

Newport's Travel to Work Area incorporates much of south Monmouthshire; the new 2001-based area also includes Cwmbran.[36] The city itself has three major centres for employment: the city centre, and business parks clustered around the M4 motorway junctions 24 in the east and 28 in the west.

In 1997, Newport secured what was then thought to be Europe's largest-ever inward investment when the LG Group announced a £1.7 billion project creating 6,100 jobs, and supported by public sector grants.[38] Facilities were built on the Celtic Lakes business and science park, but market conditions led to the semiconductor plant never opening, and the CRT plant eventually closed in 2003.[39] In 2005 Irish radiator manufacturer Quinn Group bought the former LG Phillips building, which became its European base.[40]

Industry in the east of Newport was formerly based at the CorusLlanwern steelworks, and although the rolling mill is still active, steel manufacture ceased in 2001. Permission has been granted to transform the 600-acre (2.4 km2) former steelworks site into a £1bn mixed-use development comprising housing, office and industrial space, public open space and a range of community facilities.[41]

Regeneration

The city has seen major regeneration projects being undertaken since 2004.

Infrastructure

The first stage of regeneration involved improving the city centre road network, including turning Kingsway and Queensway into boulevards. The Southern Distributor Road to the south of the city opened in 2004, including the new City Bridge over the River Usk, improving access and opening up new areas for development. The Newport City footbridge opened in 2006 linking the east and west banks of the river for pedestrians and cyclists.

The M4 relief road skirting the southern edge of the urban area of Newport is proposed as a means of reducing the congestion on the existing M4 motorway (presently squeezed through the Brynglas Tunnels) and making Newport and the surrounding areas more accessible. There have also been calls for a barrage across the River Usk to be incorporated with the M4 bypass, so that the level of the river would stay permanently at high tide level, although possible plans for a Severn barrage across the River Severn would reduce the need for a River Usk barrage. The relief road scheme was cancelled in July 2009 but relaunched in 2014.[49]

Residential

As part of the city's master plan, the city centre is currently being expanded to take in areas of the River Usk east bank. The area of land between Newport Bridge and George Street Bridge is being developed as a £43 million high-density combined commercial and residential area, joined to the west bank by the new footbridge. The plan is designed to show a strong urban form along the river front, emphasised with tall landmark buildings[50] The first phase will be known as City Vizion.[51]

Adjacent to the University campus on the west bank is the site of a potential development called "The Edge". This was to feature 227 apartments, including a 21-storey tower containing duplex apartments and penthouses. However, this development did not take place due to financial problems for the developer. The prime development site is now thought to be in the control of a bank and is likely to be brought forward for development in the future.[52] Further south is the "Newhaus" development of 154 riverside apartments.[53] At the southern end of the site, the "Alexandra Gate" development will eventually see 300 homes and riverside apartments built adjacent to the City Bridge.[54]

Commercial

Friars Walk, Newport

Due to the late-2000s recession, some major redevelopment projects were cancelled. A £210 million city centre shopping complex known as Friars Walk including a Debenhamsdepartment store and a multiplex cinema was planned to be created in time for the 2010 Ryder Cup in Newport, but was scrapped in 2009.[56] In December 2010 the Friars Walk scheme was relaunched[57] and in April 2012 a completion date of 2015 was announced with Debenhams again being the flagship store.[58] Newport Council lent the developers £90m to ensure the centre opened on time.[59] It opened in November 2015.[59] As well as 30 new shops there is a dozen restaurants and an eight-screen Cineworld multiplex cinema.[59] City Spires on the Cambrian Centre site would have included a 30-storey block of 238 apartments, 101 metres (331 ft) tall, a 10-storey office block and a four-star hotel. The plan was mothballed in 2008.[60][61] An alternative redevelopment plan for Cambrian Centre started in 2012.[62]

Transport

The M4 motorway comes within a mile (1.6 km) of the city centre, and Newport can be accessed from six junctions (from 24–28 inclusive). The Great Western main railway line also passes through the heart of the city, stopping at Newport railway station. Newport is well linked with nearby Cardiff, with approximately six rail and five bus services between the cities every hour.[63]

Additionally junction 23A lies just outside the city boundaries and provides local access via the A4810 and B4245.

The Brynglas Tunnels on the M4 are a cause of traffic delays as the motorway narrows to two lanes in each direction between junctions 25 and 26 to pass through the tunnels. Partly due to regular tailbacks at the tunnels a variable speed limit is in place between junctions 24 and 28.

Corporation Road follows the east bank of the River Usk, but with limited views of the river. It links Newport Bridge to George Street Bridge, Newport City Bridge and, via Stephenson Road, Newport Transporter Bridge.

Newport railway station underwent a £22 million refurbishment programme, completed in time for the Ryder Cup in October 2010. The project introduced a futuristic new passenger terminal and bridge, whilst restoring the 19th-century features of the site. The new complex, west of the old station entrance, includes two terminals, new terminal buildings and a public footbridge, a new passenger footbridge, a new taxi area and short-stay car park, and a 250-space passenger car park.

Air

The nearest airport with scheduled domestic and international flights is Cardiff Airport, 30 miles (48 km) south west of Newport.[66]

Main Post Office – retained façade of the former main Post Office building in High Street adjacent to the old Corn Exchange. A blue plaque states: "Site of Newport's first Head Post Office. Built in 1844 and rebuilt in 1907, the Edwardian façade being preserved in the total reconstruction of the island site in 2001. Once housed the town's first telephone exchange, known as The Savoy. Listed Grade II in 1985."

Kings Hotel – former hotel in High Street dated c.1812, currently closed

The five roads of Commercial Street, Stow Hill, Bridge Street, High Street and Skinner Street converge at Westgate Square (named after the Westgate Hotel) and this is generally regarded as the central point the city.

A Football Academy is based at Llanwern High School. It was established in 1998 as a partnership of Newport County Football Club and Newport City Council. The academy has a development programme of around 50 students undertaking sporting qualifications. The students compete in the South West Counties League as Newport County's youth team.

Culture and arts

'Stand and Stare' statue commemorating the work of Newport poet W. H. Davies in Commercial Street

Newport Transporter Bridge is one of the few remaining working bridges of its type in the world and featured in the film Tiger Bay. Visitors can travel on the suspended cradle most days and can walk over the top of the steel framework on bank holidays. The only other British example is Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge. Open days are occasionally held to view the renovation of the historically important Newport Ship.

Stand and Stare' statue by Paul Bothwell Kincaid, in Commercial Street, commemorating the work of poet W. H. Davies, who was born in Newport and lived his early life there. Davies is best known for his poem Leisure; "What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare".

Statue of Charles Morgan, 1st Baron Tredegar, in Bridge Street, created by John Evan Thomas (1850).

The Newport Festival runs throughout the summer months with a large number of events being staged in the city centre and elsewhere in the city.[75]

Set in a park of 90 acres (36 ha), Tredegar House is an example of a 17th-century Charles II mansion. The earliest surviving part of the building dates back to the late 15th century. For over five hundred years, it was home to the Morgans – later Lords Tredegar – until they left in 1951. The house was then bought by the Catholic Church and used as a girls' school until it was bought by the council in 1974, which led to it being described as the "grandest council house in Britain".[76]

A 115 feet (35 m)-long mosaicChartist Mural was created in 1978 near John Frost Square to commemorate the Chartist rising of 1839. It was demolished amid protests in October 2013 to make way for city centre redevelopment.[85][86][87][88] A trust was set up to commission a new memorial with £50,000 of funding provided by Newport City Council[89] In 2014 the Newport Chartist Commission, with members Dame Rosemary Butler, Pat Drewett and Rowan Williams, sought to recruit a project manager.[90]

As part of the city's "Big Splash" festival, on 30 August 2010, 45-year-old French circus star Olivier Roustan from Toulouse, performed the highest ever wirewalk in Europe, along the top cable of the Newport City Footbridge.[91]

Newport hosted an outdoor art exhibition called "SuperDragons" in 2010 which displayed 60 large dragons decorated by local community groups.[92]

In November 2013 the Newport Arts, Culture and Heritage Association (NACHA), which promotes "the past, present and future of the arts, culture and heritage of the people of Newport, South Wales" was launched on Facebook.[93] In December 2014 chairman of the Friends of Newport Museum and Art Gallery, Richard Frame, expressed alarm at Newport City Council proposals to close the museum in 2015.[94]

Newport City footbridge is a cycle and pedestrian bridge in Newport city centre linking the east and west banks of the River Usk.

A cycle and pedestrian walkway on the west bank of the River Usk links Newport city centre at Crindau to central Caerleon.[96] There is a marked heritage trail in Caerleon. A cycle and pedestrian walkway is on both banks of the River Usk. The East bank path links Newport Bridge to Liswerry. The West bank path links Newport Bridge to Newport Transporter Bridge and to Liswerry via Newport City Bridge.[97] It is therefore possible to walk or cycle from the north to the south of the City whilst largely avoiding public roads.

Football

Newport's best known association football club is Newport County, who were formed in 1912 and joined the Football League in 1920. Newport County have played in the second tier of English football and spent 60 seasons in the Football League, reached the last 16 of the FA Cup, won the Welsh Cup in 1980 and subsequently reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1981. They were relegated from the Football League in 1988 and went bankrupt the following year. The club re-formed shortly afterwards and entered the English league pyramid system at a much lower level. The club achieved promotion back to the Football League for the 2013–14 season after a 25-year absence, and now play in Football League Two.

The city has high-quality golf facilities at Llanwern Golf Club, Peterstone Golf Club, Parc Golf Academy in Coedkernew and Newport Golf Club and Tredegar Park Golf Club in Rogerstone. Caerleon has a good quality nine hole municipal course, driving range and clubhouse.

Within a short drive of Newport are golf clubs at St Mellons, Dewstow, Shirenewton, St Pierre, Greenmeadow, Woodlake, Alice Springs, Pontypool and Raglan.

Newport is one of three main cities where British baseball is still played – the others are Cardiff and Liverpool – and the city hosts a Wales-England international match every four years at Coronation Park.

Local media

Newport's local newspaper is the South Wales Argus, which is published in the city and distributed throughout the city and surrounding area.[101] Local analogue radio broadcasting licences cover the Cardiff/Newport area; the FM licence is held by Cardiff Broadcasting Co. Ltd., broadcasting as Capital FM South Wales from Cardiff Bay and the AM licence is held by Capital Radio plc, broadcasting as Capital Gold.[102] The local DABensembles are Cardiff and Newport (11C) and South Wales and Severn Estuary (12C).

Newport has several internet radio stations, the most popular of which is Newport City Radio.[103]